A focus on development from the “10 things to do in 2019”

Teacher Training is naturally focusing on the teacher and the best teaching practices.  But what about doing something for ourselves?  By this, I mean, just do something that makes you feel good about your English, your academic skills and your math skills? What, you say you’re an English teacher?

In one of our teacher training sessions, we looked at 10 things to do in 2019.  Well, we are halfway through the year and now it’s time to look at #6 and #8 of the top 10 things to do, both of which are related to teacher development.  We’ll look at a dictionary app for our phones as well as some games that are meant to hone our language skills.  Today, let’s kick off a summer of focusing on our own development and take away a few tools that any teacher will enjoy.

So the first one is the Merriam-Webster app for smartphones—both android and iPhone.  This is extremely useful for students and for you as a teacher.  You can always have a dictionary with you and it’s one of the best in the world.  Caution:  it isn’t a learners dictionary, but it gives almost all of the possibilities of how to use a word and examples.  It also gives etymology, which is really great because it’s possible to see where a word comes from.  The app, when you have internet, also pronounces the word.  This makes a wonderful tool for teachers and students.

Type merriam-webster.com/apps in your web browser, and go to the App Store or Google Play.  There is a fun game called Quizzitive, which I also have had lots of fun with.

The other app we looked at in 10 things to do in 2019, the one that I was talking about with the math, which actually you can avoid if you really want it, is an app called Elevate.  It is designed to increase how fast you think because it adjusts the level of difficulty as you use it. The developers describe it as “a brain training app designed to help you stay sharp, build confidence, and boost productivity.”  I look at it as a challenge and a fun thing to do to boost my vocabulary, grammar, listening and, yes, math skills.

Type elevateapp.com in your web browser, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on “Get it now”.

These two apps are free, they aren’t too big so they shouldn’t fill up your phone and they’ll help you sharpen up your skills.  At the same time, have some fun!

If you’d like to watch the video on Facebook, click here.

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